Inside the Tide

A PLAYFUL VOYAGE INSIDE THE TIDE

STRETCHING THEIR IMAGINATIONS TO THE LIMIT, THE GARDEN’S EXPERT STAFF – WITH THE HELP OF SOME PUPPET MASTERS – HAVE CREATED A TRULY UNIQUE CALYX EXHIBITION. JOHN SIEMON REPORTS.

Horticulture is often considered a fusion of science and art, and our latest Calyx exhibition – Inside the Tide – certainly lives up to this descriptor as visitors explore a whimsical journey inside an aquatic seascape.

More than 12 months in the making, each Calyx exhibition requires many hands and brains to weave a successful outcome. Starting with a series of ideation workshops, the Horticulture team settled on a working title of ‘Under the Sea’ and explored the endless possibilities – and challenges – that a seascape would present. Participating in our design workshops this year was our Landscape Designer, Sitthichat (Sitty) Bamrung, who ingeniously converted thought bubbles into visual concepts to test our ideas and further resolve them into detailed designs, including the green wall.

In a departure from our previous exhibitions, this year we have invested in a series of organic-shaped raised beds that allow for an infinitely re-configurable design for future displays. Through simply reorienting or adjoining beds, the look and feel of the exhibition area will remain fresh and provide enhanced mobility for maintenance and visitor interactivity. We have also constructed a series of giant mobile beds which, if required, we can remove or reposition to increase event or venue space.

A further point of difference for this exhibition is a partnership with Erth Visual & Physical, a renowned

‘A seagrass meadow is shadowed by an interactive shark’

Australian puppetry-based theatrical production company, which has created innovative shows that have toured the world. Through funding support by an Australian Government RISE Grant, Erth Visual & Physical have overlayed visual and acoustic elements which, when woven with more than 20,000 plants, create a feast for the senses. You may even bump into a deep-sea diver during one of your visits.

Our ocean-scene setting commences on approach to The Calyx where a life-size topiary Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, has navigated its way down the east coast on its migratory route back to the chilly Antarctic waters. Fortunately, the whale has decided to take a brief break in Farm Cove where we can enjoy it breaching the surface, in the middle of the lawn in front of The Calyx, accompanied by her baby calf.

One of the many challenges of pulling off an exhibition of this scale – besides acquiring or growing the thousands of plants required – is to construct a story that elicits a response or connection with our audience. In this case it was clear that the only way we could transport our visitors under the waterline was to use land plants, which seems counter intuitive to an exhibition focusing on aquatic life. In a masterstroke, our Manager Interpretation, Sophie Daniel, conceived an idea where land plants are ‘actors’ playing the role of an aquatic component of the ecosystem.

In ‘Act 1’ we transport visitors into the depths of a giant kelp forest. These are forests many of us take for granted because few of us have ever seen them, except perhaps in documentaries. Some kelp forests can be staggeringly tall, at almost 35 metres, and play a key role in ocean ecosystems, buffering coastlines and providing a home to thousands of other species. Emerging from the deep, our guests may spot a giant leafy sea dragon or one of many ocean creatures lurking in amongst the coral bommies.

Next up, in ‘Act 2’, we explore the coral reef systems, where a cast of succulents take on the role of corals. Many corals are architectural masterpieces and home to colonies of marine invertebrates. In this section, our plant hero is the Symbiodinium algae, which resides in corals, anemones and jellyfish, and through a photosynthetic process creates sugars and oxygen supporting life. Plants such as Aloe, Crassula, Echeveria and many other colourful interesting specimens, like mangave (a hybrid of Manfreda x Agave) emulate coral and jellyfish (the latter made with upside down hanging baskets filled with succulents and suspended from the roof of The Calyx).

In ‘Act 3’ our visitors dive through the coastal zone – where a seagrass meadow of Festuca and Dracaena (formerly Sansevieria) is shadowed by a unique and interactive shark magnificently created by Erth Visual & Physical out of recycled wetsuits. Visitors are finally transported back to the shoreline where rockpools abound and Pandanus, Carpobrotus and Worsleya define the coastal dune system.

I have to commend our brilliantly talented staff in Horticulture (particularly Randy Sing and his team), Assets, Science, Education and Experiences, Partnerships and Engagement, for constructing one of our best exhibitions yet. I hope you enjoy it!